Why aren't BP Executives in Jail?

Simple question. British Petroleum is responsible for one of the worst economic and ecological disasters in US History. Not only that but they've
lied, wasted time, pissed on coastal communities, and failed to clean up their mess. Why the hell is the government bending over and grabbing their
ankles for this bull# corporation? The way the government has been completely hands off with BP and this entire situation has been deplorable. No
fines, no arrests, no nothing.

I didn't like the Obama Administration before but now he has shredded any semblance of competence or confidence I had for him. Originally I thought
his renewed emphasis on the Drug War and troop surge in Afghanistan was the biggest slap in the face. However this has been absolutely appalling. So
you've managed to destroy the economy of several states and put the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of people at risk. I guess it was nice
of him to show up and make a pretty speech. Why is the government taking five months of my money in taxes and constantly threatening to take my
freedoms away when they can't even do something simple like regulate off-shore drilling or prosecute criminals.

I go out and shoot someone dead, I go to jail. I go out and rob someone blind, I go to jail. I go out and dump trash and tear up someone's property,
I go to jail. A house contractor builds a house that collapses and kills people, he goes to jail. BP manages a double digit body count, destroys the
economy of several southern states, and manages the worst ecological disaster in history, they get a tax-funded bail-out. If Islamists had done this,
nuclear bombs would've already fallen on Mecca. However since it's a multi-national corporation, our government is literally tripping over
themselves to blow BP. #ing ridiculous.

Exxon did the same thing, and they lost massive law suits to the alaskan residents and such, but not only did they not have any charges placed against
them, but they didnt pay any of the 3.5billion dollars is lawsuits there were required by law to pay.

like i said in a previous topic, bp needs to invest every dollar its ever made and continue to do so until the problem is fixed. theyre still posting
profit? the company should be bankrupt right now and should be forced to invest this money. its such a joke that the rich in this country get off so
easy while the poor and middle class suffer for petty crimes.

The practical answer to your question is the BP Executives will not go to jail because they are wealthy and have political clout.

The legal answer to your question is that in order to send someone to jail, you have to have probable cause they committed a crime. This means first,
you have to charge the executives with a crime. Simply doing a stupid thing is not a crime. There acts have to fall within the acts proscribed by
law. For example, negligently causing an oil spill may not in and of itself be a crime. Lying to investigators, negligently killing people, and
other acts might be crimes.

Second, once you have your laundry list of possible crimes, you have to have probable cause to arrest . Even if the government is undertaking a bona
fide investigation of BP, it may not yet have the evidence needed to have probable cause.

This does not mean BP is off the hook for civil damages. Fisherman, the relatives of workers killed in the explosion and others can sue BP for money
in a civil court. Nobody from BP will go to prison, but BP could get hit pretty hard in the pocket book.

I had to go to court because I caught a fish two inches too short. You are correct. We HAVE to hold those at the highest levels accountable or we will
continue to see these things happen. After all that is why we give them 25 mil bonuses to take all the risk of running such a company,,

What I don't understand about this whole situation is the arrest aspect. Why have the executives and safety control regulators not been thrown in
jail? They caused this leak deliberately by cutting costs and using unsafe working conditions.

They murdered 11 people on the rig, they're killing endangered wildlife and the ones that are not endangered they are committing animal cruelty due
to their criminal negligence and conspiracy to commit murder and through their attempts to destroy evidence and block any chance at due process.

Not only are defendants guaranteed due process but so are the victims. In this case the victims are the murdered crew of the rig the wildlife of the
gulf and sea, the citizens of the US regardless where they live because this leak along with the chemical dispersant's will eventually make it's way
throughout the US and the world causing debilitating disease,death and disabilities yet unknown.

Not only this is fact so far, but we also must contend that BP has committed an act of war and terrorism against us citizens and their soil. This
being the case they should be held under the patriot act as terrorists and sent to gitmo while it's still open its not that far away so when the
horrible chem's reach gitmo, and they will eventually, they can have some nice tasty water to be water boarded with.

The Board of Directors are directly responsible for these actions. They should be arrested and their assets seized to pay for the lives they have
destroyed. They and their families should be moved to Gulf region and made to work off their crimes. Right along with the small people.

Directors and Executives, stripped of wealth and moved to the region to assist in clean up efforts.

They were more than happy to profit now they should be more than happy to pay.

But they won't because they are creepy rich guys. Creepy rich guys are going to protect them. And we will die so they can live and "just get back to
their lives" to paraphrase BP corporate policy.

It would make me a lot happier to see them on television cameras working every day to clean up the Gulf side by side with the BP workers and of course
without a respirator. Every day instead of just a live feed from the ROV1-2 there would also be a live feed of the BP executives and everyone else
responsible for this disaster down there cleaning it up until the job is done.

Originally posted by wayouttheredude
It would make me a lot happier to see them on television cameras working every day to clean up the Gulf side by side with the BP workers and of course
without a respirator. Every day instead of just a live feed from the ROV1-2 there would also be a live feed of the BP executives and everyone else
responsible for this disaster down there cleaning it up until the job is done.

Exactly. But we will never see creepy rich people or their creepy offspring mingling with the small people much less help clean up the mess they made.
They are the elite.

BP corporate policy as expressed by the CEO, the primary focus of the Board of Directors and high level Executives, is to "just have their lives
back." It is not to solve the problem, it is to get back to enjoyment of their lives while we die on their altar.

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